Car culture has its heroes like Steve McQueen from the old days, Keiichi Tsuchiya from Japan, and Paul Walker from the Fast & Furious universe. When Walker passed away in 2013, local events were held in tribute to him. Those smaller events gave Paul’s younger brother Cody Walker the idea for Fuel Fest, a lasting way of keeping Paul’s memory alive.
More than a car meet, Fuel Fest was envisioned as a world-class automotive celebration blending car culture, drifting demonstrations, plus DJs and music. Proceeds from the event would help support Reach Out WorldWide, the disaster relief charity founded by Paul Walker. A perfect way to honour his legacy.
Six years later, Fuel Fest has grown into a touring show with stops in Florida, Texas, Japan and the UK in 2026. Cody Walker and F&F star Tyreese Gibson are often at events, and since 2018 Fuel Fest events have raised nearly $1 million for ROWW. On Saturday February 28, Fuel Fest made a stop in Palm Beach, Florida, and the crowd could be heard chanting Paul Walkers name well into the night.
More than 2,000 km north of Palm Beach, another fundraiser was being held. Since the end of the racing season, Demaras Racing has been hosting the Fast Film Fest; private screenings of all the Fast & Furious movies in order. This weekend, the 2015 film ‘Furious 7‘ was on the big screen, the last movie Paul Walker was in before his untimely passing. To honour Paul’s legacy, proceeds from the movie night were donated to ROWW.
With temperatures on Sunday night dropping to -16°C there was no chance for a car meet in the parking lot, but 30-40 gearheads still made it out to the cinema. To convince Canadians to brave the cold, raffle prizes were available to be won; garments from Drift Cvlture, posters from Movie Poster Warehouse, gift cards from Auto-Links Inc, and T-shirts from ROWW featuring Paul Walker’s iconic cars.
The soundtrack from ”Furious 7‘ featured the song ‘See You Again‘ by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, which was written as a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker. In the years since, the song has taken on a life of its own, and become an anthem of the close-knit family that is the car community. As the song played in the cinema, memories of friends ‘gone too soon’ resurfaced. The night became more than a memorial for Paul.
It’s interesting to see how many people one man’s life can impact. As an actor, Paul Walker’s movies helped to promote car culture to a new levels of popularity. In his life’s journey, he took the opportunity to do some good with his fame and fortune, by establishing a charity to help those in need after natural disasters. That’s truly a legacy to be proud of, and it’s no surprise that gearheads from Palm Beach, Florida to Oakville, Ontario honoured Paul Walker’s memory.
An honorable way to honor his life and the movies which have a cult following. Car culture is huge.